Permaculture Design Course
with Kyle Smith
A Quinta and Surplus Permaculture Design are excited to invite you to join us for a two-week Permaculture Design Course (PDC) at A Quinta da Lage, a beautiful 130-hectare regenerative farm, from 14-30 March 2026.
What is a PDC?
A PDC is an internationally recognised, 72-hour theory course resulting in a Permaculture Design Certificate. It provides an introduction to permaculture design as outlined by the movement's founders, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. The PDC serves as a foundation for further permaculture work and study and is a prerequisite for the Diploma in Permaculture Design, offered through The Permaculture Association and Gaia University. A growing number of universities worldwide are accepting credits for this PDC. To date, thousands of permaculture designers worldwide have been certified through this course. They now comprise a global network of educators, ecological activists, consultants, and practitioners who are influencing the decisions of major corporations, small businesses, and people from all walks of life. Changing the way we view and design our landscape, our surroundings, our relationships and our daily lives so we can grow the revolution that our planet needs.
What to expect:
This PDC promises to be a unique experience; we teach based on our real-life journey with Permaculture, drawing on over 10 years of experience across various climates. It will be full of energy and excitement, knowledge and skills, connections and community. We will cover the 72 hours of coursework required to receive a Permaculture Design Certificate over the two weeks. We will teach all sessions in ways that accommodate all learning styles, combining lectures, group discussions, visual demonstrations, hands-on participatory learning, and other creative permaculture teaching methods.
We will immerse ourselves in the community life of A Quinta. Seeing firsthand how regenerative agriculture, integrated permaculture systems and holistic design are applied and maintained. Additionally, we give space and emphasis to connecting with the self (zone 00) in personal development and self-empowerment, providing participants with life-changing tools for the future.
Beyond the permaculture course and the certification, we aim to provide a space for participants to feel free to explore, experiment, be themselves, and share and connect differently with their environment and others.
You will learn so much this course and explore many new things, and we ask that you come with an openness to learn and a willingness to try.
Course Details:
We allow one day for arrival (14 March) and one for departure (30 March).
The 2-week learning program is designed to give participants the inspiration and knowledge they need to make a positive change in the world. The course will cover a broad range of topics applicable to life anywhere on this planet; we will tailor it to the students’ needs and the location at hand. We will cover every major topic in Bill Mollison's Permaculture: A Designer's Manual in the classroom and around the farm. The course curriculum is as follows:
Philosophies and Ethics underlying permaculture
Permaculture principles and how to apply them in your daily life
Systemic thinking: Exploring the connections between elements and how to identify leverage points for change
Patterns in Nature and how to use them in permaculture design
Methods of design: How to apply permaculture design tools and strategies to your design problems. How to increase your chance of a successful design by following a well-defined design methodology.
Climactic factors and strategies: We will cover all the major climate zones and how to work with them.
Trees, forests and Forest gardening: We will explore how to mimic natural forest systems to create an abundance of food, fibre and fodder.
Water: catchment, usage, importance, and conservation.
Earthworks: Shaping the land to create water retention landscapes that have a positive effect on ecological systems, and allow us to reap the rewards of Mother Earth.
Holistic management: An animal and land management practice that mimics nature to benefit both grazing stock and biodiversity.
Understanding Soil: Learn about the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil and how to work with the soil food web to build new soils, prevent erosion, create a healthy ecosystem and regenerate degraded land.
Natural Building: We explore how to build beautiful, spiritually uplifting homes using locally sourced natural materials.
Alternative systems: Community living and alternative lifestyles that unite people and the planet. Bioregional organisation, community development, alternative economic systems, and permaculture as aid.
Appropriate technology: Innovative ideas and tools to harvest and create energy
Gardening: Everything you need to know to produce organic food
Zone 00: Personal development, self-empowerment and personal goal setting
Design Project
Participants will co-create a final design for an actual project, either their own land or a provided project, with facilitator support. If you're interested in designing your land or a specific project, contact us for more details and to prepare for this hands-on experience.
Meet the Facilitator Kyle Smith
After practising horticulture and community living on a kibbutz in Israel when Kyle was 20, he was inspired to pursue a career in horticulture. During his studies, he completed an internship at Soil for Life, a Cape Town-based non-profit organisation empowering people to grow food and create healthy soil. Kyle went on to work at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town, South Africa, where his primary focus was conserving indigenous plant species, rehabilitating degraded ecosystems, and designing and establishing education gardens on the botanic garden's grounds. Kyle later became the perennial plant and nursery manager at Panya Project, Thailand, where he spent three years facilitating numerous permaculture and organic gardening courses, and designing and co-coordinating the volunteer and internship program.
He is currently living in southern Portugal, consulting and teaching for Surplus Permaculture Design. Kyle is passionate about conserving soil ecosystems, plant propagation, reforestation and small-scale ecological agriculture. He hopes to empower people to grow their own food, become more self-reliant, and regenerate a degraded ecosystem through his unique teaching style and depth of knowledge.
Location & Logistics
A Quinta da Lage is a working permaculture off-grid farm just outside São Luís, with beautiful landscapes, freshwater springs, wild forest, and peaceful camping areas.
Included in the fee:
● 3 wholesome vegetarian (vegan options available) meals/day
We can accommodate for gluten free or other requirements with prior notice.
● All tools, materials & tuition
● Transport to/from São Luís
Private rooms/cottages available on request (extra fee).
Prices
1280€ without accommodation.
1440€ with your own caravan or tent in our camping site.
1600€ with accommodation in dormitory
We have private cottages, rooms and bell tents available, if you prefer this option please contact us to inquire about availability and pricing.
These prices include all meals, the tuition fee and all materials. Hosting courses and workshops helps A Quinta to continue to develop the regenerative systems on the land. The money paid for your course fee will be divided between A Quinta and the facilitators, meaning A Quinta can go forward with developing the project, paying staff and purchasing materials, and the facilitators can continue with their passion to teach and inspire.
Contact: Please feel free to email us on events@aquinta.org for any additional information you may need.
Payment: We kindly request a non-refundable deposit of €400 from all registrants to confirm their spot. After completing the form, you will be directed to the payment page. The remaining fees can be settled in cash upon arrival or transferred to A Quinta's bank account on the first day of the course.
Please Note: In the unlikely event of us canceling the course, your deposit will be refunded in full; additionally, we will however not be held responsible for any other financial losses.
Deposits are non-refundable if you choose to cancel. If cancellation is made less 7 days prior to the course starting date, we ask for a contribution of 75% of the course fee to cover our losses. We will accept late bookings if there is space available.